Stories about Pakistan and India

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This year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) did not bode well for the South Asian community. Maleeha Lodhi and Sushma Swaraj, two bright South Asian women who are fortunately educated and able, were unable to make a difference with their presence.
Ambassador Lodhi, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative, stated that India is the “mother of terrorism” at the UNGA. Furthermore, she stated that Pakistan is open to starting a dialogue with India, and implementing all resolutions. However, she also went on to claim,
“India has considerable experience in the state sponsorship of terrorism in our region.”
Although Ambassador Lodhi claims that Pakistan is ready for a resolution, when ...

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In the early hours of September 6, 1965, India initiated an unannounced military offensive against Pakistan. General Jayanto Nath Chaudhry’s self-confidence had gone a “peg” too far. His famous dream of “drinking at Lahore Gymkhana” that evening was soon shattered by brave Pakistani troops. India did gain some territory, but ended up losing a lot more.
Pakistan’s unexpected response and India’s heavy losses of men, material and territory brought the Indian confidence-plus-ambition down several notches and suddenly, negotiations became an option. The Tashkent Agreement ended hostilities and the (mis)adventure came to an end. It wasn’t the first misadventure and it certainly wasn’t to be ...

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The battle lines have been drawn. Nawaz is out flaunting his muscles on the street, and his choice seems clear – defiance over acquiescence. But to what end?
One possibility is that the power play is simply intended to gain political leverage and bargain relief from those the former prime minster (PM) feels have vindictively disarmed him. But two factors refute this theory – Khawaja Asif and Mushahidullah Khan.
We all know the perversity with which Asif is viewed within the General Headquarters (GHQ), and the comments that led Khan to be scapegoated and removed from his ministry. The appointment of the two ...

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The verdict of the top United Nations (UN) court ordering Pakistan not to execute Kulbhushan Jadhav until it makes a final judgment in the case, has stirred discontent and debate across Pakistan. Jadhav, who was arrested in March 2016, is a retired Indian naval officer who confessed to espionage and terror activities in Pakistan.
In a video that went viral, Jadhav confessed to have aided terrorist and separatist activities in Pakistan, particularly by fuelling insurgency in the province of Balochistan. He further exposed his country’s top intelligence agency’s role in funding activities with an aim to destabilise Pakistan.
Pakistan’s military ...

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The thing about sports is that it is always at the mercy of politics. However, individuals always find a way out. It is hard to believe but Indian and Pakistani cricketers don’t really get involved in slanging matches off the field, although between players from India and Australia, it is a possibility these days.
So when we hear that Virat Kohli and the Indian cricket team gifted Shahid Afridi a jersey as a farewell gift on his retirement, it was a gesture that even the tough-to-please Twitterati applauded.
“To Shahid Bhai best wishes, always a pleasure playing against you,” wrote the Indian ...

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It has become increasingly apparent that there is a strategic realignment of alliances within the Indian subcontinent. Pakistan has come to replace the United States with China, and hopes to include Russia, as it continues to be alienated within Washington through its policies. The possible tripartite alliance may also be extended to Iran, which is also interested in joining the group.
If the Donald Trump administration’s “America First” policy continues to play a stronger role in American foreign policy, it may further invite additional players into the already dense region.
The increasing ties between the United States and India have also led to several rumours of a souring of relations between ...

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I was recently in Pakistan after a long gap and observed first-hand how the country functions. After years of learning about Pakistan through electronic media and personal accounts of recent immigrants in North America, I was a bit guarded when it came to what I would find in the country. Most of the experiences I heard about from people returning from Pakistan ranged from bad to catastrophic.
What I found was a country that was crazy and chaotic yet chugging along. Below are some things that I walked away with:
1. In all the companies that I have worked for in ...

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Pakistan and India are locked in the conviction that each one wants the other’s destruction. Repeating the incantation is patriotic, questioning it, borderline seditious. Each country believes that its violence is only a defensive response to the other’s malevolent initiative. Both nations have separate historical markers to support their points of view and risk engaging in what each believes would be a just war.
This smouldering fire is kept alight by the capability theory of judging intent by capability assessment. US General Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the 1990 First Iraq War coalition, believes that,
“… You … judge your enemy based upon capabilities, not intent, you have to look at ...

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In Why Did the ‘Twitter Revolutions’ Fail?, an article published in the New York Times last year, Ivan Krastev couches his set of arguments in a thought-provoking manner by referring to history. He writes that, immediately after the 1851 Paris coup by Napoleon, some of the greatest political minds from Europe, including Karl Marx (a communist), Pierre Joseph Proudhon (an anarchist), Victor Hugo (a romantic), Alexis de Tocqueville and Walter Bagehot (the liberals) hustled to their reading rooms to understand the Paris coup and draw philosophical conclusions out of such events. To quote Ivan,
“Their interpretations of the coup were as different ...

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They could clearly hear the sound of wailing from their neighbour’s house. Another suspected freedom fighter was dead at the hands of the Indian army. Guilty or not, it didn’t really matter and guilty of what? Ayaan thought. Of trying to free themselves from the evil tyrants?
He glanced at his mother and saw her praying. Obviously praying for the safety of her family and for peace in Kashmir. His mother was a dreamer despite the hell she had been through but Ayaan himself had given up on hopes and dreams, all he focused on was blending in with ...